Refrigerator



May 22, 1934- D. E. RUTlsHAUsER 1,959,646

REFRIGERATOR Filed June 30. 1930 vai `Patented May 22, 1934aEr'mGEnA'roR Donald E. Rntishanser, St.. Louis, Mo., assigner.

to Klinsmann-Linder Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Delaware lApplication June 30, 1930, Serial No. 464,769

. 9 Claims. p (Cl. (i2-89.6)

This invention relates generally to refrigerators, and more specificallyto refrigerating display cases of the type employed in grocery stores,butcher shops, delicatessens, and like establishments where food stuffsare displayed for sale under refrigeration, the predominant object of'the inventionbeing to provide an improved refrigerating display casewhich is so constructed and arranged that fogging of the transparentwalls of the display case, when vthe doors thereof are opened to removearticles of food therefrom, is prevented.

Prior to this invention display cases of the type to which the.invention relates were so constructed 1'5 andarranged that when thedoors of the display cases were opened to remove articles of foodtherefrom relatively warm air from the exterior of the case would rushinto the interior oi the display case, with the result that the innerfaces of the transparent walls of the display case'would become fogged.This condition was very objectionable, inasmuch as visibility throughthe transparent walls of the display cases wasdestroyed during thefcgged condition'thereof.

^ In view of' the foregoing, I have devised the display case disclosedherein, which, briefly stated,

includes a display rack which is arranged in 'spaced relation withrespect to the transparent .front wall of the case. This display rack iss'o constructed and arranged that it serves as an effective baille whichisolates the portion of the interior of the case to the immediaterearvof the transparent front wall from the remaining, major portion ofthe interior of. the case, hence, when the doors of the refrigerator areopened to remove food stuffs from said `majofportion of the interior ofthe display case, the warm air which enters the interior of the case isprevented from coming in contact with the transparent walls of the case,with the result that fogging thereof` is prevented.

Fig. 1 is a crosssection taken through a Vdisplay case constructed inaccordance with this invention. f

Fig. 2 is a section on the staggered line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing, wherein isshown for the purpose of illustration, merely,one embodiment of the invention, A designates a display case. Thedisplay case A, in soi'ar as its wall structure is concerned, is of theusual and well known construction: that is to Say. Sli-id display caseis provided with the usual insulated walls and an inclined front'wall Bis formed of 'a plurality of spaced apart layers of glass or othertransparent material C. The displaycase A includes also one or moredoors D, which provide means of access to the interior of the displaycase.

Disposed preferably in the upper portion of the display case A isrefrigerating means R, which, in so far as this invention is concerned,may be a mechanical refrigerating unit or a suitable contaner for ice.The refrigerating means R is 'supported in any suitable manner, as bybrackets (not shown), and arranged beneath the means R is a drip pan Ewhich receives any moisture which falls from the'refrlgerating means.The' drip pan is preferably insulated and includes an upstanding rearwall E and a forwardly and downwardly inclined bottom wall Eb, saidbottom wall, at its forward portion, being provided with a channel Ewhich extends longitudinally of the pan E. The drip pan E, as shownclearly in Fig. 2 of the drawing, extends the full length ofthe interiorof the display case, the opposite end walls of said drip pan beingsecured to the inner faces of the opposite end walls of the case. Thebottom wall Eb of the drip pan E is provided with a plurality ofapertures F, and the channel Ec is in communication with a `drain pipe Gwhich ex tends from one end of the channel to the exterior of thedisplay case, whereby water which passes into the channel may be drainedtherefrom.

Suspended from the drip pan E is a second insulated drip pan H, which issupported by suity able brackets J. The drip pan H extendslongitudinally of the drip pan E, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, and saiddrip pan H is disposed immediately beneath and in spaced relation withrespect to the apertures F in the bottom wall of the drip pan E. Thedrip pan H is provided with a drain pipe K, which communicates at itsupper end with the interior of said drip pan, and at its lower end withthe drain pipe G, whereby water which nds its way into the drip pan Hwill be drained therefrom K l' 1 designates a plate which is preferablyinsulated and is arranged perpendicularly in the upper portion of theinterior of the display case. This plate extends from the inner face ofone end wall of the case to the inner face of the opposite end wall ofsaid case, and said plate is. suspended from the top wall of the case bys'uitable brackets 2. The plate 1 is arranged in spaced relation withrespect to the refrigerating means R., and the top edge of said plate islocated downwardly from the lower face of the top wall of the displaycase to provide a space for passage of air above said plate. f

Secured by hinges 3 to the horizontal wall L of the display case is adisplay rack 4. T'he display rack 4 preferably comprises a pair ofspaced apart plates 5 and 6, which are maintained in their spacedrelationship by means of brackets 7, f which are spaced transversely andlongitudinally of said display rack. The plate 5 at its lower end isprovided with a laterally extended foot portion 8, and when the displayrack is in its operative position the upper edge of said plate 5 islocated in close proximity to the lower edge of the plate 1. The hinges3 are secured'to the lower portion of the plate 6A and to the horizontalwall L of the display case, and when the display rack is in itsoperative position the lower edge of said plate 6 is in close proximityto said horizontal wall L. In view of the hingjed arrangement of thedisplay rack it is obvious that said display rack may be maintained inthe position in which it is shownby full lines in Fig. l, and also thatit may be moved to a substantially horizontal position, as shown bydotted lines in said view. -To provide means for'maintaining the displayrack in its operative position as shown by full lines in Fig. l, Iemploy one or more levers 9, each of which is pivoted at 10 to the drippan E. 'Ihe levers 9 extend rearwardly so as to present the rear endportions thereof adjacent to the doors C of the display case, and theforward ends of said levers are provided with downturned kportions l1which engage the under side of the plate 6 of the display rack 4.

In the use of the improved display case disclosed herein the levers 9may be turned about thir pivots 10 to move the downturned portions 11thereof out of engagement with the plate 6 of the display rack 4. Theupper end of the display rack may then be moved downwardly until saiddisplay rack occupies the horizontal position in which it is shown bydotted lines in Fig. 1. The articles to be displayed on the display rackmay then be arranged thereon, after which said display rack may beelevated to the position in which it is shown by full lines in Fig. 1,the levers 9 being moved to the position illustrated in Fig. 1 tomaintain said display rack in its operative position.

When the display rack is in its operative position, the interior of thedisplay case A is divided by said display rack into a storagecompartment Y and a display compartment Z, a stack of the articlesdisplayed in the display compartment being stored in the storagecompartment. When the display case is in use and the doors D thereof areclosed, cold air will pass downwardly from the refrigerating means Rbetween the plates 5 and 6 of the display rack, as'indicated by arrowsin Fig. l, said air passing around the lower end of the plate 5 of saiddisplay rack and moving upwardly through the display compartment andreturning to the position of the refrigerating means R through the spaceabove the plate 1. Also, cold air will pass downwardly from therefrigerating means through the apertures F in the drip pan E and willmove downwardly into the storage compartment through the space betweenthe drip pans E and H, said air moving upwardly adjacent to the rearwall of the display case as its temperature increases. It is seen,therefore, that there is a circulation of air in each of thecompartments Y and Z which is entirely distinct from the circulation ofair in the other compartment.

When the doors D of my improved display case are opened to gain accessto the storage compartment Y, it is plain that the warmer all Whh rushesin will be bailled by the wall provided by the display rack, and becausethe circulation of air in the display compartment Z is not disturbed bythe inrush of warmer air into the storage compartment, there will be nofogging of the transparent wall B by said warmer air.

I claim:

l. A refrigerating display case including a storage compartment and adisplay compartment, a movable display rack separating said storagecompartment and said display compartment, and refrigerating means, saidydisplay rack comprising spaced apart portions providing a passagewaytherebetween for air circulated through said display compartment.

2. A refrigerating display case including a storage compartment and adisplay compartment, a hinged display rack separating said storagecompartment and said display compartment, and refrigerating means, saiddisplay rack comprising spaced apart portions providing a passagewaytherebetween for air circulated through said display compartment.

3. A refrigerator display case including a storage compartment and adisplay compartment, a hinged display rack separating said storagecompartment and said display compartment, said display rack comprisingspaced apart portions providing a passageway therebetween for aircirculated through said display compartment, refrigerating means, and aplate at the upper end of said display rack for assisting in the controlof the air circulated through said display rack.

4. A refrigerator display case including a 110 storage compartment and adisplay compartment, a hinged display rack lseparating said storagecompartment and said display compartment, said display rackcomprising-spaced apart portions providing a. passageway therebetweenfor 115 air circulated through said display compartment, refrigeratingmeans, and a plate at the upper end of s aid display rack for assistingin the control of the air circulated through said display rack, saidplate being arranged in spaced relation with respect to the top wall o!the display case to provide an air passageway above said plate.

5. A refrigerator display case including a storage compartment and adisplay compartment, a hinged display rack separating said storagecompartment and said display compartment, 'said display rack comprisingspaced apartportions providing a passageway therebetween for aircirculated through said display compartment, refrigerating means, aplate at the upper end of 130 said display rack for assisting in thecontrol of the air'circulated through said display rack, and meansarranged to direct some of the cold air passing from said refrigeratingmeans to the air passageway between said spaced apart portions of saiddisplay rack.

6. A refrigerator display case includingl a. storage compartment and adisplay compartment, a hinged display rack separating said storagecompartment and said display compartment, said display rack comprisingspaced apart portions providing a passageway therebetween for aircirculated through said display compartment, re` frigerating means, aplate at the upper end of said display rack for assisting in the controlof the air circulated through said display rack, and means comprising adrip pan located beneath said refrigerating means arranged to directsome oi.'

i'fh'ld all passing from said refrigerating means 150 to the airpassageway between said spaced apart portions of said display rack.

'7. A refrigerator display case including a storage compartment and adisplay compartment, a hinged display rack separating said storagecompartment and said display compartment, said display rack comprisingspaced apart portions providing a passageway therebetween for aircirculated through said display compartment, refrigerating means, aplate at the upper end ofsaid display rack for assisting in the controlof the air circulated through said display rack, and

means comprising a drip pan located beneath said refrigerating meansarranged to direct some of the cold air passing from said refrigeratingmeans to the air passageway between said spaced' apart portions of saiddisplay rack, said drip pan being provided with an aperture formedvtherethrough through which cold air passes from the refrigerating meansto said storage compartment.

8. A refrigerator display case including a storage compartment and adisplay compartment, a hinged display rack separating said storagecompartment and said display compartment, said display rack comprisingspaced apart portions providing a passageway therebetween for aircirculated through said display compartment, refrigerating means, aplate at the upper end of said display rack for assisting in the controlof the air circulated through said display rack, means comprising a drippan located beneath said refrigerating meansv arranged to direct some ofthe cold air passing from said refrigerating means to the air passagewaybetweenv said spaced apart portions of said display rack,

said drip pan being provided with .an aperture formed therethroughthrough which cold air passes from the refrigerating means to saidstorage compartment, and a second drip pan disposed beneath saidaperture in the first mentioned drip pan.

9. A refrigerating display case includinga storage compartment having anopening in a wall thereof for permitting access to the interior of therefrigerating display case, a closure for said opening, a displaycompartment provided with a transparent wall portion, said opening ofthe storage compartment and said transparent wall portion of the displaycompartment being in direet op d re1ation,.refrigerating means, and ahingd bafile adapted to receive articles being displayed Within thedisplay compartment, said baiiie being interposed between said openingand said transparent Wall portion in a manner to prevent substantiallyall of the warm air which enters the case through said opening when theclosurethereof is removed from passing into said display compartment.

DONALD E. RUTISHAUSER.

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